D. S. Petrov 1, 2, G. E. Astrakharchik 3, D. J. Papoular 1, C. Salomon 4, G. V. Shlyapnikov 1, 5
Physical Review Letters 99 (2007) 130407
We show that the system of weakly bound molecules of heavy and light fermionic atoms is characterized by a long-range intermolecular repulsion and can undergo a gas-crystal quantum transition if the mass ratio exceeds a critical value. For the critical mass ratio above 100 obtained in our calculations, this crystalline order can be observed as a superlattice in an optical lattice for heavy atoms with a small filling factor. We also find that this novel system is sufficiently stable with respect to molecular relaxation into deep bound states and to the process of trimer formation.
- 1. Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques (LPTMS),
CNRS : UMR8626 – Université Paris XI – Paris Sud - 2. National Research Centre « Kurchatov Institute » (NRC KI),
University of Moscow - 3. Departament de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear, Campus Nord B4-B5,
Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya - 4. Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB (Lhomond)),
CNRS : UMR8552 – Université Paris VI – Pierre et Marie Curie – Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris – ENS Paris - 5. Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute,
University of Amsterdam